She rubbed her temples.
"Hah... I thought you had changed... but I guess I was wrong."
She glared directly into his eyes.
"Fifty credit points will be deducted from your account. Also, after today's lectures end, you will clean all the washrooms on your classroom's floor."
Noah's eyes widened.
Meanwhile, the trio smirked with delight. Even Ria was shocked by the punishment.
If she had taken him to the Discipline Committee, he wouldn't have been forced to clean the washrooms.
Instead, he had received an even harsher punishment.
Noah looked at Morgana as though this were some kind of injustice. This was not what he had expected.
He didn't mind being punished, but with a dissatisfied expression, he spoke.
"What about them? They fought back too! They even mocked me over my personal issues."
Morgana looked at him calmly before replying with a cold expression.
"Hah... in that case, it was self-defense. Also, those three look more injured than you. And even if they insulted you... you could have handled it another way. Soon, you will all be able to challenge each other to sparring matches. You could have done that... and taken your anger out on them."
Then she looked at him with a stern gaze.
"But no... you chose to beat them up like a delinquent."
Noah didn't care much about her words. He had already expected to be punished, and he didn't mind. He was just trying his luck to see if those three could get punished as well.
He had wanted to beat them up, and he had done exactly that.
'Well, whatever. I was ready to be punished anyway.'
He tried to stop himself from smiling because, despite everything, he had still managed to beat them up, even if it was only for a short while.
Morgana then turned her gaze toward Edward and the others.
With a warning look, she said,
"And you three... don't bother my student again or go around insulting others. If I find out about it next time... you won't get away without punishment like you did today."
"""Yes, Ma'am!""" the trio replied in unison.
"Tch!"
Noah clicked his tongue in annoyance because the trio had gotten away without any punishment.
Or perhaps he was annoyed because, if the senior hadn't intervened, he could have beaten them up even more.
'Hopefully, I can beat them up again next time.'
Ria simply shook her head tiredly.
"Now you're all dismissed. Leave!" Morgana said in an irritated voice.
Noah didn't waste any time and immediately left the office, followed by the trio.
Only Ria and Morgana remained inside.
Ria crossed her arms and spoke with a slightly worried smile.
"Instructor Morgana... you really got yourself a troublesome student. Noah Eldritch is known for that, after all."
Morgana slowly shook her head before sighing.
"I don't think so... well, I hope not..."
Then her expression turned firm.
"...But if he continues causing trouble, I'll make sure to teach him a proper lesson. Under my guidance, he will definitely change."
This time, her expression was filled with confidence.
Ria raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"If you say so, Instructor Morgana."
Then she bowed slightly.
"Well, I'll be going now."
She left the office, leaving Morgana alone inside. Since it was the first day, there weren't many lectures.
Although Morgana was the head instructor of their class, that didn't mean she taught every subject. Several classes were handled by other instructors.
Subjects such as alchemy, history, and mana theory were taught by different professors.
At that moment, Noah was inside a washroom, cleaning the floor with a broom.
With an annoyed expression, he muttered,
"Tch! This world is so advanced and has so many types of magic, yet they still gave me a broom to clean this place!"
He was still annoyed about everything that had happened today. He hadn't gone to the infirmary because he had barely received any serious injuries.
"Hmm~ hm~"
Noah began humming while cleaning.
Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'Man, beating them up was fun. But I need to stop getting angry so quickly. Did I get that angry because of those three... or because of Ophelia? Do I still have lingering feelings toward her... feelings that belong to the original Noah?'
Thinking about it any further wouldn't change anything.
'Well, there are so many beautiful girls here compared to my university in my previous world. Though I never really wanted a relationship, seeing so many beautiful women here definitely makes me want one... Is that really me... or is the previous Noah influencing me?'
'Also... Ophelia... she's a big problem.'
He stopped sweeping as he thought about her.
But only for a moment.
With an indifferent shrug, he muttered,
"Meh... I'll just see how things go with her. For now, I need to focus on getting stronger and thinking about the future."
After a while, he finally finished cleaning the last washroom.
He picked up the broom and the bucket of water.
As he stepped out of the washroom, he accidentally bumped into someone.
"What?!"
Noah exclaimed in surprise.
The first thing he noticed was a head of short, neck-length black hair.
"Sorry!"
The person who had bumped into him apologized quickly.
It was a young woman. She hadn't been walking very fast, so neither of them fell. She stepped back slightly and bowed apologetically.
She wore large round glasses over her black eyes. Her features were ordinary.
She had a delicate, cute nose. Below it were soft, plump rosy lips.
Her skin was smooth and fair. She had a slender figure and a cute face.
She was around 167 centimeters tall. Although she wasn't as beautiful as the game's female leads, she was still quite cute.
Noah remained silent for a moment before nodding calmly.
"No worries. It wasn't your fault."
She nodded but then looked at him with slight confusion.
Noah noticed her expression.
"Is there something you want to ask?" he said.
She hesitated briefly before speaking cautiously.
"Why did you come out of the... female washroom?"
Noah blinked.
He immediately understood why she looked confused... Or perhaps suspicious.
He raised the broom slightly and showed it to her.
"Can you see this? I was cleaning the washroom."
Then he turned around and pointed at the sign hanging on the door that read Closed for Cleaning.
However, his explanation only seemed to confuse her even more.
With a puzzled expression, she asked,
"But why were you cleaning it? Isn't there staff for that? Besides, they have much better machines that make cleaning much easier than using a broom."
Hearing that only made Noah even more irritated.
His lips twitched.
'Looks like the news about me getting punished on the first day hasn't spread yet... Well, I guess it's not something important enough to become a rumor.'
Looking at her face, he forced a gentle smile.
"Well... I was punished by Instructor Morgana."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"So that's why you're here. What did you do to get punished?"
Noah scratched his cheek awkwardly and gave a worried smile.
"I kind of... got into a fight with three students from another class."
Her expression immediately became serious.
"Why did you do that? Don't you know it's wrong to fight unofficially, especially on campus?"
Noah shrugged casually.
"They insulted and mock me... so I got angry and did it. Haha."
He let out an awkward chuckle.
She sighed, looking slightly disapproving.
"You're already causing trouble on your very first day."
Noah could only reply with a helpless expression.
"As I said, they mocked me and insulted me. That's why I did it."
She raised both hands slightly, as if ending the topic.
"Okay, okay! Just let it go now. Don't fight again. By the way, what's your name?"
Noah answered calmly.
"...It's Noah."
Her eyes widened once again.
"You... You're Noah Eldritch?"
Noah looked at her curiously.
"Yeah, I am. Is there a problem with that? And what's your name?"
She quickly waved both hands and shook her head nervously.
"No! No! Not at all. Haha... I'm Mary."
Noah nodded.
"Oh... I heard your name during attendance. No wonder you looked familiar."
She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Yeah... In my case, I wasn't paying attention to the other students, so I didn't know you were Noah. I'll go use the washroom now. Bye!"
She quickly walked past Noah and entered the washroom.
Noah stared at the door with a puzzled expression.
"...Why did she look so nervous after hearing my name?"
He already knew the answer.
"Fuck my bad reputation!... Whatever..."
He walked down the hallway to return the broom.
It was already evening.
Noah had been delayed because of his punishment. Now it was finally time to return to his dormitory room.
He had originally wanted to train for a while, but that time had been wasted cleaning.
As he walked through the campus toward the dormitory area, Noah noticed a familiar group walking ahead of him.
'Damien... and also Leonard and the others.'
It was the protagonist of the game.
Walking beside him were Leonard, Emma, and Lyria.
Noah watched Damien's back for a few seconds. Just as he was about to look away...
Damien suddenly turned around.
Their eyes met directly.
---
[A/N: Hehe! Well, now it's time for some character development. Don't mind him—he'll get better as the story progresses. So, have a little patience, guys!!]